Authorities search for man who vanished on Yosemite backpacking trip

The backpacker was last seen on Sunday near the Upper Chilnualna Falls area of the park

The Merced River rages through Yosemite National Park, Calif., on Tuesday, April 25, 2023. (ONLINE_YES)

Yosemite National Park officials are searching for a man who disappeared over the weekend while backpacking.

According to a Facebook post from Yosemite National Park, the backpacker, Hayden Klemenok was hiking with a group near the Upper Chilnualna Falls area in California on Sunday.

Klemenok hasn’t been seen since he entered the Chilnualna Creek near the trail junction at 2pm on Sunday, the post said.

Mr Klemenok was last seen wearing a tan-brimmed hat, white sunglasses, a red t-shirt, blue swimming trunks and white Adidas shoes, the post added.

The Yosemite National Park Dispatch also urged visitors who were also at the park on Sunday to send over any information to aid with the search.

Since the man’s disappearance, Yosemite National Park put out an alert for visitors to stay away from rivers, which as they are “surprisingly swift, cold, and dangerous.”

According to a GoFundMe, Mr Klemenok recently graduated from San Diego State University. The fundraising page has earned more than $49,000 since it was created on 4 July.